Dubai: Parking fee in the commercial areas of Dubai, covering 30,000 slots, is set to double to Dh4 per hour, Dubai Media office announced on Thursday.
In a major restructuring, the paid parking hours have also been changed across the city, covering all paid parking zones.
The new timings will be from 8am to 10pm, with no break in between. The existing timings are from 8am to 1pm and 4pm to 9pm.
The changes are expected to come into effect either late May or early June.
In the restructured system, the paid parking zones in the city have been divided into two categories.
Category 1
The Category 1 slots, which account for around 23 per cent of the paid parking slots, will have an entirely new parking tariff, with a provision for a payment of Dh2 for 30 minutes for roadside parking.
The tariff for roadside parking, which is expected to go live from late May or early June, has been restructured to Dh4 per hour, Dh8 for two hours, Dh12 for three hours and Dh16 for four hours.
Parking fees in some areas of #Dubai have been changed as part of the @RTA_Dubai's plan to standardise parking rates all over the emirate— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) March 10, 2016
Tariff for parking lots in category one will be cheaper at Dh3 for one hour, Dh6 for two hours, Dh8 for three hours, Dh12 for four hours, Dh15 for five hours and Dh20 for 24 hours.
Coverage
The Category 1 ares cover the central business districts in most of Deira and Bur Dubai as well as its adjoining localities.
In Deira, it includes, Abu Hail, Hor Al Anz, Al Baraha, Al Muteena, Al Khabaisi, Al Muraqabat, Rigga Al Buteen, Port Saeed, Al Rigga, Naif, Ayal Nasir, Deira Fish Market, Al Ras and Al Buteen.
Click to view infograph: New parking tariffs in Dubai
On the Bur Dubai side, areas like Al Shindagha, Al Souq Al Kabeer, Al Hamriya, Umm Hurair 1,2, Oud Metha, Al Karama, Al Mankhool, A Raffa, Al Hudaiba, Al Kifaf, 2nd December Street, and the sector between Dubai World Trade Centre and Interchange One on Shaikh Zayed Road fall under category one.
Also falling in Category 1 are 308th street and Al Saada street, both parallel to Shaikh Zayed Road between Dubai World Trade Centre and Interchange One. Interestingly, Jumeirah Beach Residence and The JBR Walk also fall in this category.
Multi-storey, straight parking hours
Parking fee has also been increased in RTA’s multistorey car parks, from Dh3 per hour to Dh5 per hour.
The paid parking hours have also been changed across Dubai starting from 8am to end at 10am, with no break in between.
Category 2
However, parking fees will remain the same for the rest of Dubai, which falls under Category 2 and covers 77 per cent of the total paid parking spaces in the city.
The changes were announced in an Executive Council’s Resolution No (5) of 2016 on Public Parking Services in Dubai issued by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.
The resolution aims to organise and regulate controlled public parking services in line with Dubai’s economic and social plans, a statement from Dubai Media office said.
Public transport
The resolution outlines a new tariff for select controlled public parking areas with a bid to encourage the use of public transport within the area covered by the amended tariff, while also increasing the generation rate in controlled parking facilities.
The unchanged tariff for Category 2 parking spaces on the side of the street is Dh2 for one hour, Dh5 for two hours, Dh8 for three hours and Dh11 for four hours.
The fees for parking lots in Category 2 will remain Dh2 for one hour, Dh4 for two hours, Dh5 for three hours, Dh7 for four hours and Dh10 for 24 hours.
Seasonal parking fees
The resolution also outlines amendments in the tariff for seasonal parking permits.
The new seasonal permit rates for parking spaces on the side of the street are Dh1,400 for three months, Dh2,500 for six months and Dh4,500 for a year.
The new rates for seasonal parking permits for parking lots are Dh700 for three months, Dh1,300 for six months and Dh2,500 for one year.
The new tariff rates for seasonal parking permits for multilevel parking facilities are Dh2,000 for three months, Dh4,000 for six months, Dh8,000 for one year. It stands at Dh300 for three months for students.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said the resolution is part of the RTA’s efforts to further streamline the management of paid parking spaces in Dubai, find solutions for the high demand for parking spaces and encourage people to use public transport.
He said that the resolution will be considered effective 60 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.